


They Didn't Talk About It

by LunchLich



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Banter, Crushes, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff, Heart-to-Heart, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Marijuana, One Shot, Recreational Drug Use, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:34:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23276407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunchLich/pseuds/LunchLich
Summary: It's senior year and Travis has made substantial progress. Larry makes an unexpected offer for their last spring break.
Relationships: Larry Johnson/Travis Phelps
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	They Didn't Talk About It

Travis fidgeted with the hem of his shorts beneath the crowded lunch table. He was elbow-to-elbow between his classmates and the other side of the table wasn't any less packed with four on each side. He was taking up space. He didn't belong in this group. He was meant to be an outlier, and here he was taking space at their table. He was trying to learn kindness. It was given to him in such copious amounts now by his friends that he himself felt inadequate for not being able to return it.

"So yeah, we're headed over to the coast for the week. Chug's uncle runs a bed and breakfast down there we're gonna stay at. What's everyone else got planned for spring break?" Maple asked. He'd missed whatever conversation they'd been having that led up to this, too anxious to pay too much attention to their small talk. 

"We're gonna visit my grandparents upstate," The brunette next to him took a bite of her salad. "No beaches for me." 

"Todd and I were planning on staying here and enjoying the time off. They just published a new Discworld book so we have fresh reading material."

"Fuckin' nerds," Travis muttered. It got a snicker out of Neil. The insults and biting words had become teasing in the past two years, any malicious intent leaving them. He never meant it in the first place, anyway. He still felt horrible about it. Maybe that's why he felt so out of place. No one else at the table seemed to carry any guilt with them.

"I dunno what I'm doing yet, but it's not gonna have any books involved, that's for damn sure."

"My dad wanted to spend time with me over the break. Maybe check out the festival they're having a few towns over." Sal's eyes crinkled at the edges beneath the prosthetic to show his smile. "Travis? What're you gonna do?"

"Jack shit, probably. I don't have any plans." And probably wouldn't, this was their last day before break and it was too late to make any now. "Not much I'd want to do, anyway." He shrugged with one shoulder, giving his best attempt at acting casual and not mildly disappointed. It was spring break of senior year, he felt like he should be doing something with this time.

"You're free to come over and play games with me or something, I'm sure my dad and I won't be busy every day." 

"Eh," Travis gave a dismissive wave of his hand before taking a bite of his sandwich.

\---

Larry stopped him after school that day, running up from behind to catch up. He clutched the straps of his backpack as he ran, slowing to an easy, hunched walk at Travis' side. "Hey," 

"Hey." Travis gave a glance over to the taller boy, hesitant in the conversation. He wasn't what he'd call best friends with anyone in his friend group, but there was something different and more distant with Larry. It made sense, Larry had hated him from the very beginning. It wasn't normal for him to go out of his way to talk to him outside of school or when the group was all hanging out together. 

"Mind if I walk with you? You're on the way, and I didn't drive today."

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and stared down at the stray blades of grass growing in the cracked sidewalk. He was getting nervous. Had he fucked something up? Larry was usually the one to call him out when he said something that was too mean, especially in the first few months where him hanging out with the group had been a trial run. Those instances had dwindled though, and Travis hoped it was going to stay that way. He hoped he was getting to be a better person.

Personal growth was hard.

"Sure, why not."

They walked in silence for the first couple of minutes. The blonde spent the majority of it staring at his shoes or looking at the dilapidated houses they passed on their walk. His hands were getting sweaty in his pockets from the nerves. "Tell me what I did wrong so we can get it over with."

"No, dude, you didn't do anything wrong. Haven't for a while." 

Travis relaxed, hearing that. His shoulders slumped and his brow softened as most of the tension left his body. "Oh. Something has to be up, though. You never walk with me."

"'Cause I usually drive, and you usually turn down our offers to ride with Sal and I. I wanted to ask if you wanted to do something together since neither of us have plans for break." Larry's voice was calm and level, but there was a twinge to it that Travis wouldn't have picked up on a couple of years ago. Was he nervous?

He turned to look up at him, furrowing his brow as he tried to understand if he was taking all of this right. "Don't you wanna hang out with Sally Face?" 

"He's gonna be spending most of the time with his dad, remember? Besides, I love the little dude but we see each other every day. I don't need to go out of my way to hang out with him."

"And you wanna go out of your way to hang out with me?" Travis scoffed.

"Yeah, I do." 

He stopped in his tracks, hearing that. It made his stomach fill with butterflies and his heart beat faster.

"And I know how much ass your dad sucks. It'll get you out of the house and neither of us would be wasting our spring break cooped up in our rooms. If you don't want to-"

"No, let's do it." 

"Sweet." Larry grinned that gap-toothed grin of his and kept walking. "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning while your dad is gone then. Pack a bag with some clothes and like, overnight stuff."

Travis nodded, coming to a halt again as he stopped in front of the house with chipping white paint next to the church. "See you tomorrow."

Larry clapped his hand over Travis' shoulder for a brief moment before continuing in the direction of Addison Apartments, waving lazily as they parted ways. "See ya." 

He was left with a tingling sensation all night where Larry's hand had been on his shoulder.

\---

Travis packed his bags that night without knowing what to expect. Larry hadn't mentioned if they were even going anywhere, or if they were just crashing in the basement of the run-down apartment and hanging out. Or both.

He wasn't going to tell his dad. He didn't know what backlash that conversation would have, but if he was getting picked up after his dad had already gone to the church then it didn't matter. He doubted he'd notice he was gone. If he did, chances were he wouldn't care.

Larry's rusty old pick-up truck rolled up into the driveway the next morning just like he said. He could hear the engine from inside. The truck had been through multiple owners before him and had been bought cheap as a fixer-upper. Travis had been around last summer when he'd bought it and invited everyone over to help clean it. 

Kenneth had left half an hour before, so he locked the door behind him with his duffle bag of clothes and essentials tossed over his shoulder. He didn't pack much, because he didn't have much to begin with. Larry popped open the passenger door for him and he slid in, stuffing the bag by his feet. 

"Rise and shine, Jim Jones." 

Travis rolled his eyes at the nickname. "Morning, Ozzy Osbourne. Where are we going?"

"Shit, I'm impressed you know who that is." Larry snickered, a snort interrupting his laugh. "Fuck if I know, I was just planning on driving until we decided to stop somewhere if you're down with that."

"Just... Driving?" The idea put a pit in his stomach. He couldn't figure out if it was from excitement or anxiety, though a cocktail of the two was likely the culprit. The uncertainty of it made him uneasy but the freedom of driving with no destination made his heart soar. "I don't have any better ideas." 

"Then let's go."

\---

They drove for most of the day, only stopping for gas and to get lunch at a no-name fast food restaurant in the middle of nowhere. They hopped right back into the old pick up truck and went on their merry way with their disgustingly greasy burgers and over-salted fries. The radio was turned to a random rock-and-roll station that crackled in and out with static throughout their trip. When the music cut out their conversations picked up from comfortable silence. For the most part, they just enjoyed the drive and the seemingly repeating scenery.

Once the sun started setting, Larry pulled over on a country road covered in gravel and not much else. No cars, no houses, no animals to speak of. If he was with anyone else, or if the drive hadn't been so peaceful, Travis might have been worried about the isolated area. "Come on," Larry urged as he hopped out of the truck. Travis followed.

Larry hopped into the flatbed of the back where his things were bungee corded in, a backpack and a couple of sleeping bags. He unrolled the sleeping bags and laid them side by side, sitting on top of one and patting the other beside him. "I brought an extra since I forgot to ask if you to grab yours."

He didn't own a sleeping bag, so that worked out just fine. He climbed into the back of the truck and took his spot on the sleeping bag. It was a little cramped, the edges of the sleeping bags overlapping and the ends of them poking out off the back. "I- thanks. So we're... Sleeping out here tonight?"

"Truck camping." Larry beamed. The way the sun was setting make him glow gold, made his hair look like it was shimmering in the warm light.

Travis swallowed hard.

"I brought some stuff, too," He reached over into his backpack, unzipping the front pocket to pull out a small baggie with a few blunts in it. "I picked this up from Todd's parents today if you'd be interested in any Devil's lettuce." The name was an obvious jab but it made Travis snort.

He hadn't smoked before befriending the gang, but he sure as hell did enjoy it now. it took away the constant ache in his joints and distracted him from whatever fresh hell he felt like his life was spiraling into at any given moment. Things had gotten better since he'd made friends, but not every problem could be solved so easily. "Please."

Larry pulled a joint from the bag and his lighter from his pocket, getting started with the first hit before passing it over to Travis. They both sat with their backs against the walls of the truck bed facing each other, legs crossed with their knees touching. It felt easier to exist, easier to talk now. He coughed and slumped against his backrest.

"How've things been lately?" 

"What do you mean?" Travis quirked a brow as he watched the man in front of him puff out smoke through his nostrils and the gap in his teeth. 

"Just, like... How've you been, man? I don't get to talk to you one on one that often. Don't usually have the balls to." 

He scoffed. "Don't have the balls to talk to me?"

"Talking is hard."

Talking was hard. He had no room to poke fun, he didn't have the balls to talk to Larry, either, but at least he had a valid reason. He wasn't on par with everyone else. He still didn't feel wanted, even if he'd been told countless times that he was. Something about Larry felt especially out of his league. Especially forbidden. "...Guess so. Why would you want to talk to me anyway? Why'd you even ask me to come do this with you?" Travis sucked in on the joint between his fingers and let the smoke burn his lungs for a few seconds before leaning his head back and letting it flow past his lips. 

"You've become a pretty cool dude." 

Travis froze, head still tilted back. He just stared up at the darkening sky for a few moments. He couldn't tell what emotion those words made him feel, but they were raw. Pride? Embarrassment? Neither seemed to fit the bill. "I'm still pretty shitty." 

"... I feel guilty, too." 

"About?" His head snapped up to look at him again, making eye contact as he passed back the joint. He needed it right now. Larry seemed to always have some sort of wall up, but right now he could see a flash of sadness in his tired eyes.

"I dunno, a lot of stuff. I'm just saying I know how it feels." 

"I never said I felt guilty."

"It's pretty obvious." Larry shrugged. "We all forgave you a long time ago, y' know. 'especially Sal. Once he welcomed you in we followed suit, even if it didn't seem that fast."

"Even you?" 

"Yes, even me, Jagweed. I'm included in 'we all'. Soon as I found out what was going on with you... It kinda made sense. So I'm gonna ask you again since you were dodging the question. How've you been? Be brutally honest, there's no one else out here. Just us."

Just them.

The blonde took a deep breath and looked down to where their knees brushed together. He didn't want to spend to much time thinking about it, but if Larry wanted the harsh truth then that's what he'd get. "Not awesome. My dad's still a piece of shit, still gets on my ass about anything he can. Still onto me about being gay. Still finds any excuse to beat the ever-living hell out of me." He delivered it flatly, unrelenting. Everyone knew, or at the very least suspected it. Kenneth Phelps taking his anger out on his 'faggot son' was Nockfell's worst kept secret, in Travis' humble opinion. 

The brunette fell into a thoughtful silence. "You gonna get the fuck outta dodge after graduation?"

"If I can, yeah."

"...I doubt mom and Henry would mind you coming to stay with us for a while, Sal definitely wouldn't. My mom loves all of our friends and she's always tried to help people in shitty situations, taught me to do the same. Even if it was just for a couple of weeks while you get things settled."

"I've already leeched off of everyone enough-" 

He cut Travis off before he could add anything more to the self-depreciation. "Gonna stop you right there. You haven't 'leeched' shit. We fucking care about you, I care about you. I'm fucking tired of seeing your fire being snuffed out." There was anger in his voice, but it was so obviously not directed at him that he couldn't be scared of it. Larry's anger felt safe, like a protective hug.

"My fire, huh? Cheesy." Travis huffed. The blunt had burnt down to its limit and he tossed the remains of the rolling paper over the side of the truck. "I'll have to think about it. I don't know if that'll work out. Thanks... for the offer, though."

The sun was behind the hills by the time they'd finished off their joint and heavy conversation. Larry had slid down to lay on his back, looking at the stars. Even though Nockfell was small, there were still enough lights that the stars were fewer and further between than they were here in the middle of buttfuck nowhere. It'd be pitch black if not for the full moon reflecting light directly above them. Their elbows rested against each other now as they laid side by side, eyes flickering between constellations. No matter how they positioned themselves it always seemed like some parts of their bodies had to be making contact. The silence lasted for a good while, but not forever. 

"What are you guilty of?"

"The fuck does that mean?"

"You said you felt guilty earlier. About what?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Bull-fucking-shit, you wanted honesty from me earlier, you can't just back out with a piss-poor excuse like that. Hypocrite."

Larry cackled. "What're you gonna do about it, tell on me to God? Being a hypocrite's a sin, right?"

He jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow, earning a whiney and drawn out 'owwww' from the taller boy. "I mean it, numbnuts. If I gotta get vulnerable then so do you." He was starting to he was going to have to elbow him in the side again until he finally spoke up again.

"...We still don't know why my dad left us, but I can't help but think it was because of me. He and my mom were always happy, and I thought having a family made him happy too, but maybe I was too much. I- I think about it a lot. The what-ifs of if I'd never been born, maybe he'd have stayed with my mom. That's the gist of it. Or... What bothers me the most."

Travis felt the words pool in his heart and pull it down to the deepest pit of his stomach. The words felt new and raw like he'd never spoken them aloud before. He shifted closer so that their arms were flush against each other, from shoulders to their fingertips, rather than just their elbows. "Y'know, sometimes bad things happen that aren't our fault." Maybe he was the hypocrite now for not taking his own advice. It wouldn't be his first sin, nor his last.

"I don't want your pity."

"Good, 'cause you're not getting it. I'm not pitying you I'm just- ...empathizing. I'm sorry that shit happened to you, it sucks and I get it."

Larry turned his head to face him, and Travis did the same when he saw the movement out of the corner of his eye. "...Thanks, for letting me say that. I've never told anyone that before- I just kinda. Kept that to myself. I weigh Sal down with enough of my shit as it is. And maybe I shouldn't be weighing you down either, but... I dunno. I felt like I can trust you with that,"

"That means a lot." Emotional honesty didn't come easy, but tonight was all about honesty. "I'm... here. For you." Travis swallowed hard, feeling his hand twitch against Larry's as he watched brown eyes flick down to his lips, then back up to meet his gaze. He didn't have time to acknowledge the fluttering in his stomach before Larry was leaning in real slow, slow enough to give him enough time to push him away if he wanted to. He didn't want to.

Their lips met shyly, both of them unsure of what they were doing or even how to do it. This was the first time Travis had ever kissed anyone and by the feel of it, he'd guess it was Larry's first time too. Larry's lips were chapped and tasted like smoke. The scruff of his unshaven chin brushed against his face, and Travis thought his heart was going to explode from the feeling of it all. Suddenly everything felt different - the distance he thought was there and the emotions he hadn't been able to identify, suddenly made so much more sense now. The kiss didn't last long and the contact was barely there. "Wh-What, you don't have the balls but you have the balls to kiss me?"

"Hey! Fuck you, I've been hyping myself up to do that all day."

\---

They fell asleep in the back of Larry's truck that night with their fingers loosely interlocked. 

They kept driving after they woke up. They made more stops that day but didn't go as far, to a small town nearby with some shitty novelty shop. Travis bought him a cheap alien keychain that Larry had giggled at.

"What, is this a gift to impress a mate? Like birds do when they give each other shiny shit?" He laughed as he stuck the gift onto the ring of his car keys. The toy alien hung from the ignition, swaying back and forth with its stupid-fucking-face. Larry's stupid-fucking-face was better to look at. He looked so pleased with himself and way too happy about the small gift.

"Tell yourself that if it makes you feel good about it, yeah." 

They only really talked when they stopped to get a meal or went into a convenience store to get snacks throughout their trip, but they never talked about the night before. Not the feelings they shared and definitely not the kiss, either. It didn't feel entirely necessary. When Larry took one hand off the wheel to hold his hand between the seats, it spoke louder than words.

They didn't talk about it when they stopped the truck that night in a motel parking lot and they kissed again in the back of the truck. They didn't talk about it two nights after that when they pulled their sleeping backs on top of a run-down playground they'd found and smoked their remaining blunts up there before passing out. They didn't talk about it when they made the final drive back to Nockfell, and they certainly didn't talk about it when everyone was sharing stories about spring break over lunch when school started up again. Actions spoke louder than words when Travis chose to sit next to Larry and make more of an effort to partake in conversation and acted like he belonged there.

They didn't talk about it, because they didn't need to.


End file.
